The world continues to sit in shock at the gruesome taking of innocent lives in Manchester. Whether or not we knew any of the victims personally, coming to grips with the realisation that those who were savagely slaughtered during a night out that was supposed to be centered around fun and music are really gone is still hard to take. Rather, a nightmare that is impossible to wake up from.
Was he acting suspiciously?
The impossible task of somehow turning back the clock and preventing this tragedy is something so many of us would give anything to do.
Was there anything anyone could have done? Perhaps commenting on how the perpetrator of this heinous act, Salman Abadi a 22-year man of Libyan decent who was born and grew up in Manchester, maybe was acting suspiciously? Have we all not taken the phrase if you see something say something to heart? Or was the possibility of seeing something that could have prevented this attack simply impossible to the naked eye?
A series of 'what if' questions we could run through again and again may drive us to becoming highly suspicious, paranoid and crazy. However, compared to the consequences which could come from ignoring the dangers which have become society's new normal, may not be such a bad thing.
If doesn’t cross the line, then what will?
Clearly, the savages who chose to carry out this attack not only decided it was ok to create bloodshed, but they have decided to target those who are the most defenseless, innocent children. How anyone could view the murder of children as a type of twisted religious crusade is unfathomable.
Clearly repeated warnings of increased vigilance of soft targets was not taken to heart. Could there have been a softer target than a room full of little girls and teens?
To see the world through the eyes of a child is a type of Innocence so many of us would give anything to be able to do. But, at the same time the impossibility of this task is further increased through the multitude of murder and injustice we are confronted with day after day.
Except now our safety nets have been shattered. No longer is it possible to shut out the world by turning off our viewing devices.
The threat is real, near our homes and coming after our children
The sooner we all wake up and face reality the easier it will be to contain the carnage before it spreads. Honestly, how many more children will have to be murdered in cold blood before the fear of being called too vigilant becomes a thing of the past?
Please take this to heart, and when in doubt think of the 22 innocent lives that were lost and the 59 critically injured victims on 22 May 2017 in Manchester. It’s far better to report an unusual occurrence and be wrong, rather than failing to report something for fear we could just be mistaken.
Not reporting could ultimately fail to prevent a tragic loss of innocent lives from occurring. Our pride of being wrong because of failing suspicions can easily be replaced. The tragedy is these families will never see their loved ones again.
